SAINTS ANGELS & SUPERMODELS ashley braithwaite bfa senior show

07.2012

CONCEPT Throughout college, I worked for a favorite clothing retailer and poured over Vogue magazines in my spare time. Strangely enough, these interests inspired the research behind the work in this show. Undressing an armless mannequin in a mall window one morning, I saw the Venus de Milo. While studying in Europe, I found Mary Magdalene depicted in religious paintings with loose, flowing hair, holding a bottle of liquid. In those paintings I saw Calvin Klein perfume ads.

Heroism, tragedy and human aspiration for an ideal lifestyle gain followers in any context. These themes are present in the subjects of 14th century religious iconography and modern high fashion ads. Such imagery have been used for centuries and continue to be recycled today. This body of work explores where two seemingly opposite genres intersect. My purpose is to neither favor nor condemn religion and fashion, rather to highlight what I have come to see just is.

INSTALLATION VIEWS gallery 303, harris fine arts center  

THE PIECES oil on canvas, found objects & sculpture  

PRADA MAGDALENE, 2011

I AM FRENCH CONNECTION, 2011

VON FURSTENBERG ALTARPIECE, 2012

CELINE ALTARPIECE, 2012

CELINE ALTERPIECE 2, 2012

VALENTINO MADDONNA, 2012

VALENTINO SHROUD, 2012

MADAME BLUE, 2012

ANGEL IN FLIGHT, 2012

SEVEN DEVILS, 2012

MODERN FIT VENUS, 2011

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